U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Occupational Employment Statistics

About May 2005 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

The May 2005 OES National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates are calculated from data collected in a national survey of employers. Data on occupational employment and wages are collected from employers of every size, in every State, in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, in all industry sectors. These data are used to calculate industry-specific occupational employment and wage estimates for most sector, 3, 4, and 5-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry groups. For more information about NAICS, see the NAICS Structure. The industry-specific occupational employment and wage estimates for a particular industry are calculated with data collected from establishments in that industry. Self-employed persons are not included in the survey or estimates. Since 1999, the OES program has used the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.

The National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates consist of the following:

SOC Code Number: the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system's unique, six-digit (plus hyphen) numerical identifier for each occupation. When the SOC code is a link, clicking on it leads to a page that contains the occupational definition and national cross-industry estimates.

Occupation Title: a descriptive title that corresponds to the SOC code.

Employment: the estimated occupational employment (not including self-employed) for that industry.

Percent of Total: a percentage expressing the estimated occupational employment divided by the estimated total industry employment, for that industry.

Median Hourly Wage: the estimated 50th percentile of the distribution of wages based on data collected from employers that industry; 50 percent of workers in an occupation earn less than the median wage, and 50 percent earn more than the median wage.

Mean Hourly Wage: the estimated total hourly wages of an occupation divided by its estimated employment, i.e., the average hourly wage, for that industry..

Mean Annual Wage: the estimated total annual wages of an occupation divided by its estimated employment, i.e., the average annual wage, for that industry..

Mean RSE : the Relative Standard Error of the mean wage estimates, a measure of the reliability or precision of the mean wage estimates. The relative standard error is defined as the ratio of the standard error to the survey estimate. For example, a relative standard error of 10 percent implies that the standard error is one-tenth as large as the survey estimate.